Campaign contributions

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in New York in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.[1]

Year

Number of candidates

Total contributions

2012

399

$26,120,274

2010

304

$22,899,004

2008

303

$22,621,875

2006

282

$22,190,222

2004

320

$22,795,363

2002

377

$24,474,447

2000

357

$16,922,067

During the 2010 election, the total contributions to the 304 Assembly candidates was $22,899,004. The top 10 contributors were:[2]

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

30 incumbents (22.9%) faced no competition in the November 2 general election.

19 Democratic incumbents faced no November challenger.

11 GOP incumbents faced no November challenger.

Primary challenges

Only 25 incumbents (19%) faced competition in the September 14 primary. Two incumbents -- Democrats Ginny Fields and Francine DelMonte lost to their challengers -- Ken Mangan and John Accardo respectively. The following 23 incumbents (21 Democrats, 2 Republicans) won their primaries:

Qualifications

Article 3, Section 7 of the New York Constitution states: No person shall serve as a member of the legislature unless he or she is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the state of New York for five years, and, except as hereinafter otherwise prescribed, of the assembly or senate district for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election; if elected a senator or member of assembly at the first election next ensuing after a readjustment or alteration of the senate or assembly districts becomes effective, a person, to be eligible to serve as such, must have been a resident of the county in which the senate or assembly district is contained for the twelve months immediately preceding his or her election. No member of the legislature shall, during the time for which he or she was elected, receive any civil appointment from the governor, the governor and the senate, the legislature or from any city government, to an office which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time.

Candidates running under multiple parties

New York is one of eight states that have "electoral fusion" -- which allows more than one political party to support a common candidate. This creates a situation where one candidate will appear multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but is now commonly practiced only in New York.[3]

Opponents of fusion voting argue that the process results in dealmarking to ensure that patronage is rampant.[4] Proponents maintain that fusion voting allows for minor parties to actually make a difference during the election, allowing voters the opportunity to vote for a minority party platform but still affect the general election result.[5]

For the purposes of maintaining uniform listings of candidates across the country, the candidates below will be labeled according to their primary party with which they registered. Any minority parties that a candidate filed under will also be listed next to that candidate's name.

Primary results

In New York, election results are tallied at the local election board level before being sent to the state board. Thus, primary election results are not immediately available after the election. Certified results will be available near the end of September.

Dean Murray (RIC) a Incumbent Murray was first elected to this district in February 2010. In addition to his slot on the Republican Party ticket, he was also listed as a candidate of the School Tax Relief party and the Conservative Party.

Robert Castelli (R C TX) a Incumbent Castelli was first elected to this district in 2010. In addition to running on the Republican ticket, he ran on the Conservative Party ticket and the Taxpayers Party ticket.

District 98

September 14 Democratic primary:

Aileen Gunther (DC) a Incumbent Gunther was first elected to this district in 2003. In addition to his slot on the Democratic Party ticket, she was also listed as a candidate of the Conservative Party.